In his latest Q&A column for The Catholic Telegraph of Cincinnati, Fr. David Endres answers, yes, explaining that the Church’s aversion is rooted in ancient pagan denials of the Resurrection:

While today one may not think of the choice for cremation as offering a theological statement, in ancient times cremation was associated with a lack of belief in the resurrection. In the first days of the Church, we see that Christians buried their deceased while the pagans burned the bodies before burial. The choice of how to treat the bodies of the deceased was seen as testimony to belief or unbelief in the afterlife. Canon law had forbidden cremation and did not allow for Christian burial for someone who had been cremated.

He then goes on to explain that the Church has relaxed its absolute prohibition of cremation (while still discouraging it) since “[t]oday the choice for cremation is not often made to deny the resurrection, but is often chosen for practical reasons including financial necessity.”

That’s true, but I also believe people “burn their bodies” due to a denial of what constitutes a human person, namely a unity of body and soul [CCC 365]. That’s why so many Catholics say things like “Heaven just got another angel” after a loved one dies. They think the body is something discarded and left behind, so why not torch it?

Shouldn’t that be enough for the Holy See to douse the crematoriums once again?

Glenmary Father John S. Rausch appeared on CNN Aug. 1 as part of a climate change town hall event with former United States Vice President Al Gore.

After being introduced by host Anderson Cooper, Father Rausch said his experience as a priest in Appalachia has led him to believe the climate crisis is really a crisis in spirituality.

Father Rausch asked, “Mr. Vice President, how can we influence people to see a spiritual connection in their consumer habits (so) that they can see the consequences of their buying, the consequences (they) have on people in Appalachia and also in other parts of God’s kingdom?”

Before delving into his response, Gore took a moment to thank Father John for his ministry, and expressed admiration for the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

“Well, thank you, Father. And thank you for what you do. I’m a Protestant, but I’ll tell you, because of Pope Francis, I really could become a Catholic. He is really an amazing spiritual leader.”
Gore, who was raised a Southern Baptist, went on to recommend that people of all faith traditions should read Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si.

Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, praised New Ways Ministry at the group’s annual conference in Chicago last week.

“New Ways Ministry made me want to come here,” the bishop said, extolling the group for its outreach to people who are “really struggling” with Church teaching on the immorality of homosexual acts.

The bishop’s appearance was a breakthrough for New Ways Ministry. The organization drew a caution from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1999, and in 2011 the US bishops’ conference issued its own statement that New Ways Ministry should not be regarded as a Catholic organization, because of its dissent from Church teachings. Several bishops have refused to allow the organization’s leaders to speak at parishes in their dioceses.

In his remarks to the group, Bishop Stowe tackled the controversial question of whether Catholic institutions should remove openly homosexual employees. He replied in the negative, saying: “We risk contradicting ourselves if we want our employees to live by the church’s teaching and if we ourselves as an institution don’t live by our teaching, which has always opposed discrimination of any sort.”

Bishop Stowe, a Franciscan, was appointed to the Lexington see by Pope Francis in 2015.

Chicago’s archbishop, Blase Cupich, a notorious dissenter Francis put in charge of one of the largest dioceses in the United States, will speak on May 5 at a fundraiser for the Athenaeum, the home of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Mount St. Mary’s of the West. The irony would be amusing if it weren’t so offensive. Cincinnati’s Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr has made priestly vocations the centerpiece of his episcopate, and he’s accelerated the uptick in vocations that began under his predecessor. Cupich, on the other hand, is to vocations what a turd is to a punch-bowl. I’m told by people close to his diocese that dozens of men discerning priestly vocations are escaping Chicago for more faith-friendly locales. There’s an additional irony here: Cupich was widely rumored to have been on a very short list for Cincinnati’s ordinary when former Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk’s retirement loomed. Imagine what he would have done to vocations here. We dodged a bullet, Chicago didn’t. Shame on the Athenaeum’s Bishop Fenwick Society for inviting scandal by bringing this man here.

BFS Dinner Features Cardinal Blase Cupich

Cardinal Blase Cupich is the Archbishop of Chicago and a member of the Congregation for Bishops which advises the Holy Father in the choice of Bishops for the United States.

Cardinal Cupich was born on March 19, 1949 and ordained to the Priesthood for the Archdiocese of Omaha, August 16, 1975. After receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, from the College of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN he attended the North American College receiving his bachelors, masters and licentiate in theology from the Gregorian University. He completed his doctorate in Sacramental Theology at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. Cardinal Cupich has served as a pastor, high school teacher, director of worship, as well as Secretary, Apostolic Nunciature, Washington, D.C. and President/Rector, Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, OH. He was appointed by Saint Pope John Paul II Bishop, Diocese of Rapid City and later Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Bishop of Spokane. On September 20, 2014 he received the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Chicago and His Holiness Pope Francis elevated him to the College of Cardinals on November 19, 2016.

His Eminence serves on many commissions including the USCCB Communications Committee and the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs; he is co-chair of the National Dialogue Initiative with Muslims, Chair of the Sub-Committee for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe as well as Chancellor of the Catholic Church Extension Society and a Trustee of the Catholic Mutual Relief Society.

Throughout the years, the seminary has depended on financial support from generous benefactors. The Bishop Fenwick Society (BFS) is a devoted giving society made up of benefactors who give $1,000 or more, annually, to fund the seminary and Athenaeum. To thank BFS members for their steadfast generosity, and encourage others to join, Archbishop Schnurr hosts an annual thank-you dinner. This year’s event on May 5 will be held at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel (downtown Cincinnati).

“We encourage everyone who cares deeply about our mission to join the BFS,” said Kyle Isaack, director of Advancement at the Athenaeum. “If you’ve already donated this year – we thank you for your support. If you’ve never given, please consider making a donation today, so you can help us form and educate our future priests.”

A recent sign of the secularization of our culture is the phenomenon of “meatless Mondays,” promoted as though there’s never been a custom in our society of skipping meat on a day that falls closer to the end of the week (hint: rhymes with … “Cryday“). It’s especially disappointing to see Catholics peddle it, as is the case with the folks at Xavier University’s Dorothy Day Center for Faith and Justice (XUDDCFJ, ‘natch). Under a regular feature on its website, “Dorothy Day’s Top Five,” you’ll find this item at the top:

#1: Meatless Monday is today in the caf. Sign up to commit to a meatless Monday today in Fenwick from 11:45-1:15 or 5:00-7:00.

How this relates to faith or justice is anyone’s guess. Perhaps bovine rights are the new frontier.